


Risk Aversion

by kethni



Category: Veep (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 13:38:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11162964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: Accidents don't discriminate.





	Risk Aversion

**Author's Note:**

> For Crazymaryt - thank you for the request!

At first, it didn’t hurt.

At first, she wasn’t frightened.

Kent was frightened. She could see it in his face and that was… odd. She had seen him in situations that were potentially very... troublesome. She had seen him concerned, worried, or anxious. This was the first time she had seen him look frightened.

‘Don’t move,’ Kent said. He knelt down with his knees on either side of Sue’s head.

To ensure she couldn’t move it.

Then she was afraid.

Then she was in pain.

‘They’re on the way,’ Kent promised. ‘They’re get you to the hospital and everything will be fine.’

His voice was shaking.

‘What happened?’ Sue asked.

He took off his gloves and cradled her face. ‘A truck driver clipped our back wheel. I went one way while you and the motorcycle went another.’

Sue looked away. Looked away from the panic in his eyes.

‘They’re on the way,’ he said again. ‘They’ll get you to the hospital. You’ll be okay.’

‘Kent?’

‘Yes?’

‘Am I a disembodied head?’

He barked a laugh and a few drops of the anxiety drained away. ‘Everything is attached. The leathers and helmet are scuffed but not cut or pierced.’ He sighed and his thumb caressed her cheek. ‘I’m ensuring you remain unmoving in case your neck or spine are injured.’

‘If I am paralysed then I will make your life a never-ending misery,’ she said seriously.

He swallowed. ‘I’ll do that myself.’

‘And everything else,’ she said. She could hear her own voice shaking. ‘I expect to be waited on 24/7.’

Kent forced a smile but it was weak and wavering. ‘You don’t already?’

Sue heard the approaching wail of the ambulance. ‘You’re paying for that.’

He nodded. ‘Yes.’

She heard the squeal of the ambulance tyres as it parked. Heard the siren die. Heard the ambulance doors opened.

Kent glanced up, once, but looked back at her immediately. He didn’t look away again, not even when the paramedics came running over, their booted feet crunching on the blacktop.

***

_She didn’t like the motorcycle. She didn’t understand the motorcycle. He was an educated, rational, and logical man. He wasn’t going through some pathetic midlife crisis. Sue was completely confident that he was entirely secure in his masculinity. She didn’t understand **why** he wanted to risk his health in such a ludicrous display. _

_He enjoyed it. He enjoyed the freedom. He enjoyed the sensation. He enjoyed the camaraderie of the club. He enjoyed a radically different approach to interpersonal relations._

_She didn’t approve. She wanted him to stop. It wasn’t safe. He said that he was a careful and safe rider. He had never had an accident._

***

A broken leg. Pathetic. She was neither a child nor the sort of person who went skiing. It was ludicrous. Laughable.

Nothing else.

Her hands were shaking because she was cold.

Nothing else.

She had been irritated at the inconvenience. That was all. She was certainly annoyed at her visitors’ attitudes, but they were nothing unexpected.

 ‘You were lucky,’ her mother said, tutting and shaking her head.

 

‘It’s a fucking miracle they didn’t scrape you up off the blacktop,’ Amy said.

 

‘It was very fortunate that Mr Davison acted so quickly to keep you still,’ the doctor said. ‘Your neck was jarred and the wrong movement could have paralysed you.’

 

Kent said very little, and he wouldn’t look her in the face, let alone in the eye. He had been at her bedside when she woke up. He looked exhausted: there were heavy, dark bags under his eyes and his skin had a grey cast.

She knew he was the one who had brought her nightie, robe, and slippers. She knew her half-read novel on the bedside table was his doing.

He had a dozen deep scratches across his left cheek. They had the little closers to help them knit together. His left eye was swollen almost shut.

‘What happened to your face?’ Sue asked.

‘My helmet split,’ he said. His voice sounded thick and viscous as if he were gargling with glue.

Sue gripped the bed sheets. ‘They’re not supposed to do that. You should sue the manufacturer. You could’ve been killed.’

‘They’re not indestructible,’ he said quietly. ‘It did its job. I still have a head and everything is still on the inside.’

‘Is that all?’ she asked. She didn’t feel angry. She did not want to accuse him in any way. But she heard the tone her voice took on, and she cringed with him.

‘Bruised ribs, he muttered. ‘A minor concussion. Nothing severe or enduring.’

‘That must be nice.’

She saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down.

‘Do you want me to go?’ he asked.

Sue shivered. Kent grabbed the blanket and offered it to her. She wrapped it around her shoulders.

‘I want a coffee,’ she said.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I’ll get some coffee. Do you want something to eat?’

‘Yes. I’m hungry.’

Kent moved stiffly. Uncomfortably. He was probably in quite a bit of pain. Well she’d asked him. He’s the one who decided to downplay it.

‘You need a shower,’ Sue said.

Kent leaned over to give her the coffee and a limp sandwich. ‘I’ve only changed clothes,’ he said meekly. ‘I haven’t been home.’

‘That explains the mingled smell of iodine, sweat, and worse.’

Kent closed his eyes for a long moment. ‘I’d have to go home,’ he said.

‘That shirt doesn’t fit you,’ Sue said.

He glanced down. ‘Ben picked it up from a store. The underwear is worse.’

Sue smiled a little at that. Kent still couldn’t look her in the face, so he didn’t see it.

The shirt was tight and the material looked coarse. Kent had surprisingly sensitive skin; he was probably being rubbed raw. The trousers looked as bad, and she dreaded to think how bad the underwear was.

‘Go home and shower,’ Sue said brusquely. ‘I shouldn’t have to deal with the way you smell or look at those hideous clothes.’

He flushed red, but leaned in closer. She knew from his body language that he was going to kiss her. But then he hesitated.

Sue turned and kissed his cheek. ‘Go on,’ she said, and her tone was much gentler than she expected.

***

She stayed overnight, because they wanted to check she had no unidentified issues. Kent was there when she woke in the morning. He had her takeout breakfast from her favourite deli: rich roasted coffee and a bagel with cream cheese, sundried tomatoes, and salmon.

Kent had his own empty bag. He looked a little less exhausted but his shoulders were still low and he was still avoiding her eyes.

‘They said you should be able to go home in a few hours,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to Ben and Selina about making adjustments for you at work.’

Sue looked down at her broken leg and wiggled her toes. ‘I’m itchy,’ she said.

‘Hmm, okay,’ he said. ‘Underneath your cast?’

‘Yes.’

‘I brought a hairdryer,’ he said

Sue pursed her lips. ‘How hard did you hit your head?’

Kent’s mouth twitched but he didn’t smile. ‘I did some research and the most commonly suggested remedy for an itch under a cast, was to use a hairdryer on a cool setting. The second was to tap the cast and hope the vibrations stop the itch.’

Sue’s eyes widened. ‘Do not touch my cast.’

‘I’ll get the hairdryer.’

His face was looking worse. His stiffness had increased.

‘Are you in much pain?’ she asked.

Now he looked at her, finally, and she saw how difficult it was for him.

‘A bit, he said diffidently. ‘I am suffering soreness more than anything else.’

‘You could have been killed,’ Sue said.

He blinked and struggled to find the words. ‘I’m okay.’

‘You could have been killed!’

Kent took a step back. ‘Sue –’

‘How could you risk your life riding on a _stupid_ motorcycle!’ She hurled her pillow at him.

He caught the pillow and held it tightly against his chest.

Sue sought to get her breathing under control.

‘Well?’ she demanded.

Kent licked his lips. ‘We were sideswiped by a truck,’ he said. ‘The same thing could have happened in a car. The motorcycle had nothing to do with it.’

Sue closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she felt the mattress dip as he sat down.

He took her hand and brushed his thumb across the back of her fingers.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said softly. ‘I’m sorry.’

Sue looked at him. His body was shaking. His face was downturned.

‘Kent. Kent, stop being such a little bitch.’

He was so startled that he stared at her. ‘Uh...’

‘I suppose you have statistics about the relative safety of motorcycles,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to hear them but I will accept them.’

He nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘Do whatever it is you’re going to do with the cast, and then take me home.’

Kent swallowed and then nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘You’re going to look after me,’ she said firmly.

Kent nodded. ‘I am.’

‘Then kiss me. Man up. And let’s get this done.’

Kent managed a smile and kissed her.

The End.

        


End file.
